Page 137 of Murder in Highbury

Mr. Weston goggled at her. “Mrs. Wright? You cannot mean it.”

Emma hesitated. “I don’t know that I do, but her behavior has been so odd. For instance, why did she take it upon herself to repack Mr. Suckling’s luggage? It was rather forward of her.”

Frank shrugged. “Yes, but that’s not entirely unusual. Servants pack our luggage all the time.”

“True,” said Jane. “But not just any servant. Only my maid attends to my things, and when you don’t travel with your valet—as you did on this trip—you pack your own bags.”

“Very badly, I might add. Any self-respecting housekeeper or maid would take one look inside my bag and immediately give her notice,” he jested.

“The point remains that Mrs. Wright took it upon herself to repack Mr. Suckling’s valise without his permission,” said Emma. “At which time she conveniently found the necklace.”

Mrs. Weston held up a hand. “But why would she murder her own mistress?”

Emma tapped her forehead, as if in doing so, she could break free the tangle of questions that bedeviled her. “For the necklace, one might suppose. But then why give it up?”

“Perhaps she sensed she might be falling under suspicion?” mused Jane. “And that it would be discovered among her things?”

Mr. Weston looked dubious. “I don’t think anyone has raised any suspicions against her. Certainly, there was no question in that regard during the inquest.”

Emma sighed. “You’re right, of course. But sheisvery angry about something, or at someone. Mr. Suckling, for one. And why has she so precipitously abandoned her position, especially when she has no other employment? Mr. Elton certainly had no intention of letting her go. Even though he needs to economize, he made it very clear that he depended greatly on her.”

“It is rather dodgy for her to scamper off like that,” mused Frank. “Never took to the woman myself. She’s rather a grim sort, don’t you think, Jane?”

His wife nodded. “Yes, and I must confess that she has been rude to me on more than one occasion when Mrs. Elton was not in the room.”

“What?” Frank exclaimed. “Why the devil was she rude to you? And why didn’t you tell me?”

Ah, now it made sense.

“I’ll wager she was rude because she was jealous of Jane’s relationship with Mrs. Elton,” Emma said.

Jane wrinkled her nose. “I thought that might be the case, although it seemed so silly at the time. Why would a housekeeper be jealous of me?”

“The woman is clearly deranged,” Frank said with disgust. “Perhaps she had something to do with the murder, after all.”

Emma cast her mind back, searching for the relevant conversation. “Dr. Hughes did tell me it was possible that Mrs. Elton was murdered by a woman.”

“Good gracious,” exclaimed Mrs. Weston. “For all her faults, I cannot believe that Mrs. Wright is guilty of murder. Mrs. Elton spoke so highly of her. And by all accounts, Mrs. Wright was devoted to her mistress.”

“It does seem rather far-fetched,” added Mr. Weston. “If robbery was her motive, Mrs. Wright wound up leaving empty-handed.”

For all her theorizing—and admitted flights of imagination—Emma could not disagree.

“You’re right, of course,” she replied. “All the evidence points to Mr. Suckling. Still, there are many unanswered questions. How was he able to escape detection that day? He presumably traveled on horseback, so where did he stable the animal? And we have just heard confirmation of how unlikely it was that Mrs. Elton would expose her sister to scandal and disgrace, which suggests a lack of motive on Mr. Suckling’s part.”

Frank nodded. “True. Mr. Cole also informed me that Suckling has apparently hired a Bow Street Runner to try to clear his name. Seems a silly thing to do if he’s actually the guilty party.”

“That might be for show,” Mr. Weston pointed out. “Suckling is paying the fellow, after all. He can send the runner off in any direction he likes.”

“Is it possible there might be more than one person involved in the murder?” Jane asked in a hesitant tone.

Emma blinked. That possibility had never occurred to her. “Are you suggesting that Mr. Suckling had an accomplice in Mrs. Wright?”

Jane waggled a hand. “Perhaps. As you pointed out, she has been behaving most oddly. And the coincidence of finding the necklace does tax credulity.”

“But if such is the case,” said Mrs. Weston, “why would Mrs. Wright then implicate him in so direct a fashion?”

Frank snapped his fingers, looking almost gleeful. “Perhaps they were lovers, and Suckling betrayed her. She sought her revenge by planting the necklace in his valise.”